The present invention relates to an attachment structure of a storage unit in any kind of equipment such as a microwave heating apparatus having the storage unit in which a water supply tank containing water for generating steam is stored.
As microwave heating apparatuses in the conventional art, there are a single function type apparatus for performing only microwave heating, a combination oven having a convection heater for performing heater heating in addition to microwave heating, and so on. A microwave heating apparatus capable of supplying microwave and stream into a heating chamber has been also discussed.
As disclosed in JP-A-09-101034 (Japanese Application Publication Number: Hei09-101034), for the microwave heating apparatus to which a steam generating function is added, various methods such as a method of generating steam from a boiler provided outside the heating chamber and introducing the steam into the heating chamber have been proposed.
The microwave heating apparatus to which such a steam generating function is added has a water supply tank that can be attached/detached to/from a storage space formed in an exterior. Water in the water supply tank is dripped into the boiler by a water feed pump.
In the recent microwave heating apparatus, an operation panel of the microwave heating apparatus has been arranged in a door portion or a control circuit has been arranged near the bottom for the requirement of increase in volume of the heating chamber and reduction in size of the apparatus as a whole. In the microwave heating apparatus formed so that the water supply tank can be attached/detached to/from the storage space formed outside the apparatus, the storage space has to be provided as a large space for setting the water supply tank detachably. This however causes difficulty of attaining increase in volume of the heating chamber and reduction in size of the apparatus as a whole.
It may be therefore conceived that the water supply tank is stored in a narrow space between the heating chamber and an exterior panel in a side portion, etc. of the apparatus. When a storage portion for storing the water supply tank is provided in this space, there is however a problem that it is difficult to mount the exterior panel on the apparatus body.
Particularly when the exterior panel constituting a top surface and opposite side surfaces of the apparatus is U-shaped in section in advance so that the exterior panel will be fitted while slid from above or the back of the heating chamber in order to attain facilitation of the assembling work, an end surface etc. of the exterior panel is caught in the water supply tank so that the exterior panel cannot be mounted on the apparatus body even in the case where the exterior panel is slid because the storage portion of the water supply tank protruded outward from the exterior panel interferes with the exterior panel at the time of slide mounting of the exterior panel on the apparatus body.